Hello Everybody! Today I am sharing with you my Pasta with Sausage and Broccoli Rabe recipe! This recipe uses fresh tomatoes that add a subtle sweetness to the dish and pairs nicely with the hot Italian sausage and nutty broccoli rabe flavors. The cooking technique is similar to my recent Pasta with Swiss Chard recipe. Watch the full video to follow along as I cook this recipe step by step or continue scrolling for the written recipe.

Ingredients:

• 1 lb. Pasta, I used cavatelli
• 1 Bunch of broccoli rabe, washed
• 5 Plum tomatoes, skin peeled and chopped
• 3 hot Italian sausages
• 1/4 Onion, chopped
• 5 Garlic cloves, chopped
• Olive oil
• Salt and black pepper, to taste
• Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, shredded, for topping

Begin by preparing the tomatoes and sausage. For the tomatoes, I boil them for a couple of minutes, until I see the skin start to crack. I then remove from boiling water and let them cool down a bit. Once they are cool enough to touch, I can easily peel off the skin. Cut in half, remove the seeds and then continue to chop. For the sausage, cut off the end of the casing and squeeze out bite sized amounts of the sausage at a time. Bring a pot of salted water to a boil which will be used for the broccoli rabe later.

In a deep frying pan, pour in about two ounces of olive oil and heat over a medium flame. After the oil has heated up, add in the bite sized sausage pieces. Sauté for about two to three minutes, making sure to stir so that it cooks evenly and doesn’t burn. Add in the garlic and onion and continue to sauté for about two minutes.

Stir in the tomatoes and continue to cook for about ten to fifteen minutes over a medium/low flame. After five minutes, lower the flame and add the broccoli rabe into the boiling pot of water. Let cook for about two to three minutes. Fill a big bowl with ice and cold water which will be used for blanching the broccoli rabe. Scoop the broccoli rabe out of the boiling pot of water and place into the big bowl of ice water. This is to stop the cooking process of the broccoli rabe. Set aside to cool down. I like to use this hand strainer to easily scoop the broccoli rabe.

Bring a pot of salted water to a boil and cook the pasta one minute less than per the package instructions. Once the pasta has been added to the boiling water, remove the  broccoli rabe from the cold water, squeeze the excess water out and then add into the pan with the tomatoes and sausage. Add salt and black pepper, to taste, mix and continue to cook over a low flame until the pasta is done cooking.

Scoop the pasta out of the pot and place into the sausage and broccoli rabe pan. You can add some of the pasta water to thicken the sauce a bit and also to help stick the pasta and sauce together. Mix together over a medium/low flame for about two to three minutes and then remove from the stove. Serve with a sprinkle of shredded parmigiana cheese and enjoy! Salute and cin cin!